Sociologist, Prof Deborah J. Cohan, has reflected on the ways in which sociology helps students as a major or minor subject.
She notes that the discipline of sociology was founded as a response to the rapid transformation of society, and it remains relevant to explain the ‘causes, patterns and consequences’ of current sociopolitical events. Some of the benefits of sociology include:
- Building ‘the empathy muscle, which is essential for living in a community’
- Providing ‘the framework for understanding that seemingly private, personal troubles are actually connected to much larger public issues and social structures’
- Critiquing ‘the alienation, flattening, and dulling that are consequences of bureaucratic conditions’
Prof Cohan lists examples of how students in other fields can benefit from sociology units. This includes
- Nursing and public health: the impact of domestic and family violence, sexuality, race and inequality on physical and mental health
- Business: resisting alienation at work
- Communications: role of emotions in technology
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